As described last night, the Game of the 2017-18 Season award, chosen by the membership, was shared jointly by Marc Obi for his fine win against Gary Kenworthy and Toby Cox for his demolition of Robert Whiteside.
Marc’s game drew praise both for his play and the importance of it in the context of Bedford B’s season:-
- “Marc makes the job of defeating a vastly experienced FIDE Master look utterly straightforward. And it wasn’t. It is the apparent effortlessness of Marc’s play which makes such an impression.”
- “Marc Obi’s performances on Board 1 gets him my vote …., particularly the cool finish against Kenworthy”
- “Beating Kenworthy is Herculean”
Toby’s game was admired for its attacking flair:-
- “… Toby treats him with a lack of respect (by which I mean a lack of exaggerated caution) which is delightful.”
- “… it doesn’t need annotation, just remember what it’s like to be young!”
- “Toby Cox fought fire with fire and took his chances admirably.”
- “Rob is an excellent player and Toby just beat him fair and square. Kudos!”
Both players had had excellent seasons so the joint award was extremely fitting and well deserved.
These two games were way ahead of all others and are well worth a look if you haven’t already – follow the links above.
The voting was rather disappointing with only 13 votes being cast, although it was interesting to note that 17 different games were selected, showing that different games are perceived differently by different players.
It was thought that one thing deterring voting was the number of games on display. Next season, a short list of 10-12 will be selected which will hopefully encourage a greater turnout.